


Things You Said About Starlight

by littlemisfit5290



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Future Fic, Old Age, Prompt Fic, Things You Said...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 10:26:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9067675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemisfit5290/pseuds/littlemisfit5290
Summary: “Tell me again, Mulder. What you told me you believe.”“You mean that after five decades with me nothing stuck?”Mulder & Scully have a talk under the stars.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "Things you said under the stars and in the grass."

_December 2042_   
  


“Tell me again, Mulder.”

  
“Tell you what, Scully?”

  
“What you told me you believe.”

  
“You mean that after five decades with me nothing stuck?”

  
She doesn’t laugh, leans back into his chest. He feels her shivering and frowns, holds her closer.

  
“Tell me what you believe about the starlight, Mulder.”

  
He presses his lips to her temple, shakes his head sadly.

  
“I’ll tell you when we get back to the house, okay?” he asks gruffly, but without seeing her face he knows her jaw is set in that stubborn way. She has no plans on either of them moving from this spot on their front lawn. Not now, not yet. 

  
“No. Just a little longer.”

  
“You’re freezing, Scully.”

  
“Then warm me up.”

  
Mulder obliges, tucks the blanket they’re not sitting on more around her tiny, too thin frame. Her back is still pressed to his chest and he curls his body around her. A last ditch effort to protect her. Protect them both.

  
“You said the starlight doesn’t die. That it’s where souls reside.”

  
“Probably. In all my infinite wisdom.”

  
“Mulder..”

  
“It’s too soon for the speech, Scully,” he says after a beat. His voice is gruff, muffled in the scarf wrapped around her head.

  
“I’d rather hear it now than in the eulogy you give.”

  
He shakes his head, lightly laughs to keep from crying.

  
“Are you trying to say that even after you rewrote Einstein, even with your unshakeable faith in an afterlife, you’d stick around in this realm, on this side of the cosmos just so you could watch me cry through your eulogy?”

  
“Of course. What else would you have me do?”

  
“Explore the infinite mysteries of the universe, acquaint yourself with your God, reacquaint yourself with Maggie, your daughter, your sister. Tell Ahab that in spite of what I’m sure he thinks I’m really not that bad a guy.”

  
“I’m sure Mom’s done enough of that for us already.”

  
She coughs then, wheezes and he rubs her back, waits for the fit to pass.

  
“We should go, Scully.”

  
“Not now. Not yet.”

  
He relents, holds her closer as they continue watching the clear night sky.

  
“I’m not gonna explore, Mulder,” she says, her voice husky and raw sounding. 

  
“Explore what?”

  
“Realms and universes. I’m not ready to go looking for more mysteries. To try and find the answers.”

  
“What do you want then, Scully?”

  
“I want to be starlight,” she chokes out. “To just  _be_  until,”

  
“Honey, I’m home?” he quips, earning a laugh that’s loud, that echoes. Makes her stomach ache in that fantastic way as she leans back and contentedly resides in his arms. She feels warm again.

  
“I can’t promise it won’t happen sooner than you think,“ he says solemnly.

  
“Mulder, we talked about-“

  
“Broken heart syndrome, Scully. Also known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy or the widowhood effect,” he says roughly. She curls closer,   
strategically rests her head on the left side of his chest.

  
“What about William, what about Sam and Margo? You think that I wouldn’t want to spend as much time with our son, with our grandchildren as I could?” 

  
“You’re the one who bakes cookies and gives good hugs and throws birthday parties. I’m the old guy in the recliner who fills their heads with stories about the existence of extraterrestrials.“

  
“They want to believe you, though.”

  
“Want to? I think Margo wants to turn grey in her sleep.”

  
“You think she’s not gonna miss you? You think Sam and Will aren’t-“

  
“They know about the starlight, Scully,” he says as she tilts her chin up, meets his eyes.

  
“They do?” she asks, her eyes so big and blue and wet they make his heart hurt. Even though he can still feel her’s, still beating strong and steady.

  
“Yeah, they do.”

  
She nods then, feeling fully enveloped in the blanket and his arms. Feeling safe enough to rest her eyes, just for a little while. 

  
“Good. T…tell me one more time.”

  
“Lately, I always stop to think…that the light, is billions of years old by the time we see it. From the beginning of time right past us into the future. Nothing is ancient in the universe. But I believe they’re souls, Scully. Traveling through time as starlight, look…”

  
Trailing off, he clutches her small hand firmly pressed to the left of his chest. Kisses her on top of the head as her breathing, body relaxes against his.

  
“Looking for homes…”


End file.
